Beauty / My New Favourite Mascara

April 1, 20153 Comments

Up until very recently I had been using the same mascara for years, for no particular reason other than I’m a creature of habit and picking up that same mascara every time made my tendency to be indecisive far less debilitating. I didn’t give much thought to whether it enhanced my lashes to their full potential or not, and to be honest, I never much concerned myself with that because I have quite long, full lashes that often get mistaken for falsies. But, for one reason or another, I decided to pick up a different mascara and see how it worked for me. And oh boy, was there ever a difference! Enter, L’Oreal Telescopic Shocking Extensions Mascara, a silly name really, but to be honest, quite accurate. If I thought my lashes looked long and full before, this mascara enhanced them in such a significant way. An added bonus is that it lasts way longer than my previous mascara, so I don’t feel the need to apply more throughout the day, and it doesn’t clump! Thank god! I have a tendency to apply quite a lot of mascara because of my ginger, almost invisible lashes, so the fact that it does not clump is a life saver for those of us who need quite a bit of mascara to actually prove we have lashes.

If you are looking for a new mascara, I can’t suggest this one more. I didn’t think I’d ever be so excited about mascara in my life (what has my life come to!?), but here we are. A whole post dedicated to it.

Beauty / Styling My Fringe (Bangs)

March 26, 2015March 26, 20156 Comments

Today I’m going to share how I style my bangs/fringe, each and every day. I’m sure the way I style my fringe is not uncommon, but I do see a lot of people using a straightener to style a straight-across fringe, which I used to do ages ago and that works pretty well, but what I do now I find is longer lasting and gives the right amount of volume, in my opinion. Also, I’m in desperate need of a bang trim, so my fringe is a bit wonky, I apologize for that.
STEP ONE: To style my fringe, it is an absolute must that my fringe is wet. But since I normally wash my hair in the evening, I wake up with totally dry hair. What to do?! Well, I just run my comb under water and then comb through my fringe, getting all parts of it wet, not to a super sopping wet degree, but just enough that it is malleable and will agree with my blow dryer.
STEP TWO: Now the styling part! I split my fringe in 3 sections (left, centre and right) and using my round brush and blow dryer I place one section over the brush and dry that section by holding the brush near my hairline and then pulling out (that’s what she said) away from my face. The round brush will create a lovely lifted, round shape to the bangs, that is both bouncy and clean looking. Then I continue on to the rest of my sections, until all is even and dry. Since my fringe often has a mind of it’s own, I usually guide the outer sections in the correct direction so that my fringe covers all of my forehead. To give the whole look an extra lift, I’ll take little sections of hair from the top of my fringe and do the above process again. Side note: you may be thinking, why the heck are you not holding the handle part of your round brush? And the answer is, I’m not sure? It feels more comfortable for some reason.
And that’s it! Every so often I give my fringe a little spritz of hairspray after I’m done, but not always. I find this way of styling a straight-across fringe is great for holding on it’s own, with little or no product.

Beauty / Braided Headband

March 19, 20154 Comments

Today I’m going to show you how to create a headband for your beautiful hairs with your very own hair. Crazy! This style is pretty fun and versatile as you can make the braids as thin or as thick as you like. I went with thin braids this time around, but I assure you that thick ones are quite striking. So! Here we go!
STEP ONE: Start by parting your hair near your ear and simply pull out (not literally) the desired amount of hair you would like to braid – the hair you use for your braid should be quite close to your ear, sort of like when you wear a headband and it sits right behind your ear, that’s where your braid should be coming from. Now you can braid those hairs! Once your braid is finished no hair elastics are required, just get a bobby pin to hold the braid in place while you start working on the other side. ~~How many times can I say braid in one paragraph?!~~
Now you should have a braid on each side, which I have decided to turn into… this? I also look like a fish. And I’m rhyming. What’s wrong with me?!
STEP TWO: Now you are going to make your headband! Take your desired braid and guide it over to the other side of your head, and then fasten the end of your braid with bobby pins behind your ear, right where the other braid starts. One down! Now do the same to the other side.
STEP THREE: Once you are done, your braided headband should look something like this. I like to fiddle a bit with the hair that I place over the braids so that it hides the bobby pins holding everything in place, and just for general pulled togetherness.And that’s it! Another easy one, cause ya’ll know I like simple (most of the time). Let me know if you guys try this one out. And as always, if you have any hairstyles (or any other beauty fun) you’d like me to share, let me know.

Beauty / Skin Care Routine

March 12, 2015March 17, 20157 Comments

I will start off by saying I am by no means a skin care guru. If I am being totally honest, up until about 1-2 years ago I barely gave any thought to what products I used on my face, and it was sort of a grab whatever is on the drug store shelf and go. This usually mean’t a simple face wash and moisturizer, and often if I ran out of face wash I would just wash my face with soap, for days…not good, but you know, I didn’t care. As a teenager I didn’t have great skin, blame it on hormones and puberty, whatever it was, I had a very mild sort of acne. Back then it felt like nothing would make my complexion smooth and flawless, so I would just pile on foundation and concealer. Not the greatest way to combat zits, but my teenage self felt defeated. Luckily, as I got older, my skin improved immensely and I’m not even the slightest bit embarrassed about my makeup-less face. All the products I use now are still drug store bought, but they are products I always use and love. My interest in skin care has grown immensely quite recently, so I’m hoping that over time I’m able to learn more about some natural independent skin care brands that I can incorporate into my routine. But for the time being, these are inexpensive, drug store brands that I really love. Simple foaming cleanser – I usually use this product at the end of the day to wash off my makeup. It’s quite gentle on my ever so sensitive skin and it rids my face of all makeup almost instantly. I do often use it when I wake up in the morning, time willing, and it’s a great way to wakeup my sleepy, puffy face. I also like that it doesn’t dry out my skin, because as you will learn here, I have quite dry skin, especially in the colder months.

Nivea gentle toner – I use this toner morning and night, and I absolutely love it. I have quite dry skin, so I love the way it cools my face and gives a nice, firm feeling once it has soaked in, minimizing my pores and making things look real smooth, like a baby’s butt.

Nivea eye makeup remover – A lot of my eye makeup comes off after I use my foaming cleanser, but I will use this on the days where I have worn more eye makeup than usual or when I have missed getting some off (say the nights when you come home a wee bit tipsy). It’s not the best eye makeup remover I have ever used, but it works well enough.
(big St. Ives fan over here! also, i apologize for my nail polish that looks like it was applied by a 6yr old boy)

St. Ives Timeless Skin collagen elastin moisturizer – big name, yes, but big results! Guys, I love this moisturizer! LOVE. This moisturizer is light enough that it doesn’t leave my face feeling greasy, but it somehow manages to really and truly hydrate my skin. Hydration is the best word to describe it. I also like that it absorbs into my skin really quickly, so that on days when I’m in a bit of a rush to get out the door, I don’t have to wait long before I apply my makeup. I use this product morning and night, and it is my dry skin saviour. Amen.

St. Ives Even & Bright pink lemon and madarin orange scrub – I use this scrub 3-4 times a week when my skin is in need of some cleansing action. I often still get blemishes (or zits, if you will) and I find this scrub helps combat those little demons before they have the chance to thrive on my poor old face. Also, it smells heavenly, so that’s an added bonus.

St. Ives Timeless Skin mineral clay – I usually only use this product a few times a month. It’s a deep cleansing face mask that gives you that wonderful ~~awful~~ tingling sensation once it starts doing it’s job. I find I only use it around a week or two before I start menstruating (tmi? naw, jei), right about the time when my skin decides to invite it’s little zitty friends over. I’ll also use it when I’m feeling like I want to have a nice pampered evening of face masks, painting nails and baths.
And the best, most inexpensive way to keep your skin looking healthy and happy is drinking water. I love water, so this is an easy task for me, but if you don’t love water that much, learn to. Water is your friend.

So there you have it! My simple, inexpensive skin care routine. Like I said, I would love to incorporate some new products made by local or independent brands as I continue to learn more about my skin, so if you guys have any brands you adore, I’d love to hear about them! And if you use any of these products, let me know!

Beauty / 1940s Pigtail Loop Braids

February 25, 20154 Comments

Today I’m going to share a tutorial on how to do 1940s pigtail loop braids. I will say, I honestly feel this hairstyle works better for hair shorter than mine. I say this because I personally think it looks better when the loop holes aren’t so large (they mostly just get in the way when they are as big as mine) and it’s easier to get them to sit comfortably and closer to your posterior hairline at a shorter length. But, as you can see, I made it work, so this hairstyle works for many lengths. Okay, blahblahblah! The tutorial!
STEP ONE: Start by separating your hair just the way you would to make pigtails and then braid each section of hair. Simple as that. If you can braid your hair, then this is a cake walk. If you have shorter hair, you can set your braids a bit farther back, behind your ear, this way your loops won’t get in the way as much.
Surprise surprise, doing something weird with my braids…this time I made a braided beard.
STEP TWO: Take the end of your braid and fasten it to the base of your head with bobby pins – you can do this either on the inside of your hair, closer to your ear, or the outside, which I have done here because my hair is so heavy and it was nearly impossible to pin on the inside. This step is way easier with shorter, light hair, in my opinion. I needed a ton of pins to hold my braids in place, which doesn’t look very aesthetically pleasing, but oh well. If you choose to do the outside, you can clean the look up a bit by hiding the ends of your hair inside the rest of your hair and fastening it with pins. To finish it off tie a bow around your loops to achieve a more pulled together (and adorable) look.
And bam! Done! Another easy and cute hairstyle for all. If you guys have any hairstyles you’re interested in learning, let me know. I’d be happy to oblige!